Which debater won? Depends on who you ask in S.J.

Thursday

Oct 4, 2012 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Across San Joaquin County, people partisan to either incumbent Barack Obama or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney tuned in to Wednesday night's debate. Some say Obama won. Others say it was Romney's night. The true answer will come Nov. 6 after the ballots are counted.

Jordan Guinn

STOCKTON - Across San Joaquin County, people partisan to either incumbent Barack Obama or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney tuned in to Wednesday night's debate. Some say Obama won. Others say it was Romney's night. The true answer will come Nov. 6 after the ballots are counted.

At University of the Pacific, students eating dinner inside the De Rosa building casually watched on one of dozens of screens inside the two-story structure.

English major Kimberly Leppelmeier, 18, said education is the most important issue to her this election.

"They were cutting a lot of the electives in the high school I graduated from, and I'm worried about that," she said. "More cuts equals less education."

Leppelmeier said she believes the president is more in line with her thoughts on education.

On the other side of the aisle, registered Republican Sara Blicharz said Romney scored high marks in her eyes when he spoke about his thoughts on education.

Romney discussed his support of plans enabling parents in impoverished areas to have a say in what public schools their children attend, Blicharz said.

"He said instead of the federal government running education from the top down, parents can have a choice," she said. "They can have control to move their kid to a different school if the one he or she is at isn't working."

Observing the clash as a neutral party was Reed Niemi, the debate coach at Delta Charter School in Tracy. He said the biggest loser in Wednesday's session was the environment, because time expired before candidates were able to discuss the topic, which was slated on the evening's agenda.

As far as the demeanor of both candidates, Niemi said Obama acted presidential and didn't engage Romney when the challenger spoke.

Romney, on the other hand, directed his comments at the president throughout the evening, he said.

"Obama pretended to be above the fray and directed his comments at (moderator) Jim Lehrer. Romney was very aggressive," he said. "Both parties will claim their candidate won."